10/21/11

15 May 2017

Renewable Power Play in NM

New
Mexico Governor Jim Garcia revealed a blockbuster of an energy plan
this morning to a crowd of investors and energy company executives
congregated at the State House. The plan would call for unprecedented
modifications of land use in the state along with the sale of energy
bonds, investments from foreign and domestic sources, and applications
for US renewable energy grants, to facilitate an innovation contest with a
massive grand prize.

Photo by Lynn Rosentrater, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license

The
Southwest Electrical Energy Technology Initiative, or the SWEET
Initiative for short, leverages the Land of Enchantment’s massive swath
of unpopulated sun-drenched desert, small patch of windmill-ready land,
and progressive state government in an attempt to produce 42 million
gigawatt-hours of energy a year starting in 2025. In 2016, that number
would have accounted for about 9% of total US electricity usage.

“We
plan for the SWEET Initiative to revolutionize the State of New Mexico,
bringing much-needed jobs, lowering the price of power, revitalizing
our infrastructure, and showing the country—and the world—that
sustainable energy production is not only possible but practical and
profitable,” said Mr. Garcia in this morning’s meeting.

The
plan calls for land to be made available for three companies or
consortia of companies based on the results of a contest in which
low-cost, renewable energy production facilities are judged by a panel
of experts on cost-effectiveness, impact on the environment, and
long-term sustainability. The three winning plans will be given prize
monies and gifted land for building—up to one-twelfth of the state’s
footprint, if necessary.

Jane Ketterer, head of the US Renewable Energy Association, applauded the
move. “It’s high time states and counties got involved in renewable
energy in a serious way. The SWEET Initiative should be taken as a model
by all states with significant green energy production capacities.”

Not
everyone, of course, is on board. Brittany Wheeler, Senate Minority
Leader for the State Senate held a press conference to express GOP
dissent from the plan. “Time and time again, the Democratic Party has
shown that it has no respect for the average working American. This
plan, if it doesn’t make New Mexico a national laughingstock, will
bankrupt local power producers, kill jobs, and raise taxes on those who
can’t afford them. [The New Mexico GOP] will stand firm against this
bitter pill being forced down the throats of New Mexicans and will work
to repeal it.”

The
deadline for the facility design contest is January 6, 2019, the
state’s 107th birthday and the date of the next projected solar eclipse.
Many of the designs submitted are expected to include solar thermal
tower plants, solar panel farms, and wind farms. Other possible
solutions include urban and highway piezoelectric generation and
graphene-enabled solar harvesting.